Rogue Alien
by GraceDragon013
Summary: The Omnitrix is a device that is desired by many. One black-market trader in particular is looking to make a quick price off it. But nothing ever goes according to plan when you're around Ben Tennyson.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Astrid Darque. I'm a Plumber's kid; but don't mistake me for one of those Plumbers who actually do their job. Why use my powers for protecting the weak when I can use them to get whatever I want? My dad was the Plumber, and I get my powers from him. He was a Necrofriggian, so that makes me half-alien. And I like to use that as a "one-up" on anyone who tracks me; or whom I'm tracking.

See, I'm a bit of the greedy type. I want everything I can possibly get my hands on – because my parents never gave me anything worthwhile. I've heard some rumors on various planets that some-one's gotten a hold of the Omnitrix. That's one fancy gadget, and I want it. Just imagine if I wasn't half-alien but all alien! I could do anything – have anything!

I take pride in my theft, and start the rumors of my work myself. I want my tales told right. I've built up a notorious reputation stealing some priceless alien technology and selling it on the black market. There is one buyer in particular who stays in my memory. He never failed to pay the sum I requested and he was always on time for our rendezvous. His name was Kevin Levin and I haven't sold to or heard from him in years.

Enough about my buyers and more about me: I was born on Earth and lived there until I was about six years old. My mom disappeared that year with no word where she was going – my guess is that she couldn't handle the life of a Plumber's wife. Good riddance. After she left, my dad took me to where he called home. I didn't pay him any attention and certainly didn't enjoy this "home planet" of his. It was much colder and less populated that Earth. The only good part about it was learning how to use my Necrofriggian abilities.

I stopped counting my birthdays after eleven, so I've really no clue how old I was when I ditched "dear old dad." I just got up one day and decided I was done living like "daddy's little girl." I stole his Plumber's ship and took off. I didn't know where I was going or how to get there. Maybe I was just getting away from the choking hold my dad had on my life. He wanted me to be a Plumber just like him. There was no way I was ever going to take another order from him ever again.

More time passed – who can tell how long? I developed my skills as a thief by using my Necrofriggian abilities. Being invisible and intangible really gives one the advantage. I had learned from my dad that I could actually transform my physical being from my human form to that of a Necrofriggian. I hadn't practiced very much because I'd never needed my human form anywhere except Earth – and I only went there on business.

But now I had business on Earth other than the black market of alien tech. I wanted to find whoever had the Omnitrix. They were causing a lot of trouble for my field of trade. Take them out and not only do I solve my little dealing dilemma, I get the Omnitrix. I'd be set up for life if I sold that to the highest bidder. I don't really care what they want the stupid thing for, as long as I get my cash –whatever the currency.

I always did like the feel of the seats in my ship. If I ever saw my father again, I'd have to compliment him on his choice. They were oversized for me, but just the right amount of softness. After a tough job, it was relaxing to sit or lie in one of the chairs. In fact, there were many things I liked about the ship, and only one thing I couldn't stand – the Plumber's communication device. That troublesome thing provided the Plumbers with a way to track me, and there was no way I could break it. Plumbers certainly lived up to their technological reputation.

I was lost in my thoughts when a beeping from my navigation system jarred me back to reality. They ship's autopilot had taken me to Earth and was now warning me that I was about to enter the atmosphere. Everything was going smoothly. I'd land, hide the shop, mask myself as a human, earn the trust of whoever had the Omnitrix, then get the Omnitrix and sell it to the highest bidder. It was fool proof.

I sat straighter in my chair and turned the autopilot off. Following the ship's tracking of the Omnitrix's signal, I guided the ship to a wooded area near the signal. The trees would mask the ship well enough; all I had to worry about was getting to the Omnitrix and figuring out how to play its current holder so that I could have it for myself.

There didn't appear to be any humans around so I didn't mind the trees felled when I landed. I stood out of my seat and watched myself in the reflective glass as I changed from Necrofriggian to human. The flare I'd been practicing worked excellently. I'd heard of Alan, another Plumber's kid, using his Pyronite abilities to hide the change – it wasn't pleasant to watch. He used flames and flashed of light, but since I can't do that, I decided on mist and such to shroud me.

My human form was probably what Earth boys would call "pretty." My skin was well tanned, and that made my yellow-green eyes really stand out. My red-brown hair was tied back in a high horse-tail, but there were several strands that fell loose in my face. I wore a simple pair of jeans and a dark purple shirt. I looked down to my feet and saw a pair of black tennis shoes with purple laces. There weren't exactly subtle, but I didn't care enough to get new ones. My voice was medium ranged and sounded like honey, with just the tinniest trace of venom. It was strange to hear after all the time I'd spent as a Necrofriggian.

Now that my human self was in order, it was time to get started on the hunt for the Omnitrix. But where to start? I had no idea who exactly had the Omnitrix, or how to get inside their head. It looked like my only choice was to get in contact with Kevin Levin. I knew he had to have some kind of information on the Omnitrix, being the low-life he was.

"Kevin Levin?" I had to make sure it was him. He sounded different somehow.

"Who's asking?" His reply was gruff but still like the Kevin I remembered.

"Astrid Darque," It felt odd to say my own name aloud. I hadn't heard it in a long time. Kevin muttered something to someone who must have been with him; I couldn't make it out. Was he in the middle of a deal with someone?

"Astrid! How long's it been since we saw you on Earth?" Kevin now spoke at a decent volume to me. But I was still wondering what was going on at his end. "Would you knock it off?" That wasn't directed to me. Whoever was with him sure was getting on his nerves; and that was never a good thing with Kevin.

"I can't help it," the voice came from his end. It was loud and clear; I didn't pay much attention to its first remark, but what it what it said next caught every ounce of my attention. "The Omnitrix is fritzing again!"

Were my ears deceiving me or was Kevin actually with the possessor of the Omnitrix? This was an amazing stroke of luck. Either Kevin had captured the Omnitrix or he was playing whoever had it. I had to guess the second because Kevin's tone wasn't exactly hostile. It sounded more like this squabbling between them was something normal.

"So what do you want?" Kevin was back to speaking to me. "You got a deal or are you looking for one?"

"A bit of both," I replied smoothly, covering my surprise about the Omnitrix with practiced perfection. Lying was a talent every black market trader had, and I was very good at it. "My ship's fuel tank is empty. I had to land on this dirtball planet. Think you can get me out of here?"

"Depends," Kevin sounded convinced, but suspicious too. We both knew the other was hiding something. "What kind of fuel you on the market for?"

"Same as always, Kevin; still have my old man's ship," Though I was annoyed at his beating around the bush, this time was giving me a chance to think things through. I had to figure out how to get the Omnitrix and then keep it. Everyone knew it couldn't just be taken. Maybe I was in over my head. Maybe I was being stupid. But this was the job of a lifetime, and I wasn't going to pass it up. It didn't matter how long it took or how hard it was.

"Then I've got what you need," I could almost feel his smile and I knew he was thinking about the money he'd get from me. Plumber's vessels ran on specialized fuel that wasn't easy to come by without proper authorization.

"I'll be waiting," I didn't have to tell him where I was (I didn't even know); he could just track the Plumber's signal from my ship. All I had to do was wait.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing I noticed about Kevin was how much he'd changed. It had been nearly three years since I'd seen him, and now he was much bigger. Though I'd heard his voice during our call, hearing it in person made it sound even deeper. When we shook hands, I felt mind be dwarfed by his. While in my human form, I was about a head shorter than Kevin.

After formalities, Kevin was the first to speak. "What are you really doing here, Astrid? Your fuel tank isn't even half empty."

"I'm on business," It was the most I'd planned to tell him. I didn't know if he knew I'd overheard about the Omnitrix, so I wasn't going to mention.

"Don't you have any more details for me?" Kevin was pressing for information; probably trying to get in on whatever deal he thought I had. I didn't blame him; I wouldn't trust someone like me either.

"If I tell you anymore," I began, arms folded. "You might steal my job." It was a quick lie. I hadn't actually been hired by anyone.

"Not even what you're after?" Kevin insisted. I could see I had to say something to get out of this. I leaned against my ship and stared at the sky. It was a good thing I met Kevin outside – the clouds had given me an idea.

"I'm looking for some alien tech," That was an answer Kevin would have to accept. It was just enough to tell the truth and keep a lie from being exposed. How could he possibly argue with it?

"How much is it worth?" Great. Now I'd gotten him interested in the deal (which didn't exist). I had to get him to back off before he figured out my ruse.

"Not enough to fix you up," My quirky response had brought up a joking side of me I hadn't seen in years. It only happened when Kevin was around; we both had the same sense of humor.

"Real cute," Kevin only cracked a smile. Neither of us laughed. A moment of silence stretched between us, broken at last by the beeping of my communication system from inside my ship. "You gonna get that?"

"It can't be that important," I thought it was just another Plumber call, trying to track my ship. "Besides, I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"What have you been doing? I haven't heard any news of you from any traders or my other sources." I had to ask him. The question had been nagging at me from the moment I'd called him.

"That's not what I was expecting," Kevin placed his hands in his pockets. He took a moment before he answered me. "I've still been in on some deals. Argit's my man. Unlike you, I haven't been seeking them out. You've made yourself a decent reputation."

"Don't make this about me," The reply came out harsher than I'd intended. This was getting me nowhere. I needed to get something out of Kevin while I still had him here. I knew he was somehow linked to the Omnitrix; I just needed him to spill something about it so I could press the subject.

"Chill out," Kevin raised his hands in surrender. That was something old Kevin I knew would never do. The old Kevin would have snapped at me by now. He would have demanded to know what I was after and who I was doing it for. I wasn't sure if I liked the new Kevin or the old one better. I just stared at him.

"What do you know about the Omnitrix?" I was done wasting time. I didn't need any excuse to know about the Omnitrix – it was common knowledge by now. The only thing secret was who had it.

"Is that your target?" Kevin answered with a question. His face showed no definable expression, but I could tell by his voice that this was dangerous territory.

"What if it is?" I sent the hostility right back. I knew what he was capable of. He was one of the few beings who scared me, despite our past camaraderie. The only way to mask that fear was to match his bravado.

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Then, without warning, I was pinned to my ship by a metal hand around my neck. It was cold and firm, and when I looked I saw it was Kevin's. Dots cleared from my eyes and my vision refocused on Kevin's serious face. He hadn't held back when he slammed me backwards.

"If it is," Kevin spoke in a low tone. "You'll have to go through me, and two others." The two others he mentioned sounded like an afterthought. He let me go and turned to walk away. As I watched his back, I realized there was more to his change than his appearance. The Kevin I had just met was a different person. He was obviously not on my side anymore.

I rubbed my neck and shook my head. Thinking that I should have played dumb a while longer, I went back inside my ship. It crossed my mind to see who it was that had tried to contact me, but I was not in the mood for conversation. I had to think of a new plan now. My mind was still buzzing with puzzlement over Kevin. I couldn't think of anything else. I felt like I'd just been betrayed. I'd had people double cross me on deals but this was different.

Thankfully this time, my communication system beeped again. The incoming frequency was coded and I didn't recognize it. I needed a distraction so I took the call.

"Astrid Darque?" I hadn't even spoken yet and the caller had asked my name.

"Who wants to know?" I retorted. This ship was still under my father's name; only the Plumber's and a few others knew I had it. There was no answer so I spoke again. "Hey! I asked you to tell me who you are."

It only took me about ten seconds to regret that arrogance. My ship was rocked by a much larger ship's fire. I hadn't noticed until now that the ship was on my radar – and in close range. I cut my communications, the talking was obviously over, and returned fire. Looking more closely out the windshield at my unknown enemy, I could tell this fight was already over. My ship stood no chance against the larger one. It was built for assaults; that much I could assume.

Without any hesitation, I transformed from human to Necrofriggian and began to freeze the inside of my ship. My only hope against the fire power of the larger ship was to counter the heat with cold. That way, I might survive. In a moment of desperation, or false hope, I fired on the ship again. My blast did little to no damage against the enemy. At least I had tried.

My gut told me my ship would not withstand this assault much longer. I hit the emergency SOS code into the communication system and sent it out to all the alien frequencies on Earth. I didn't know why I called for help like that, or who I was calling to. Maybe it was to the Plumbers; maybe it was to a black market trader; or maybe it was to Kevin.

I could already feel the temperature rising. My engine was shot, leaving me no escape route. Before I had time to contemplate anything else, blinding light and deafening explosions disoriented me. It took me a moment to realize my ship had blown up – with me in it.

**Author's note: **Reviews keep me writing~! If you want more of this story, tell me~!


End file.
